TheStar Posted August 26, 2009 Author Share Posted August 26, 2009 Pictures, this is with both the white and the blue lights on. No idea why they came out like this. The tank looks SUPER in person but it does have sort of a Disco effect from the lights. Link to comment
bxz Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Why it is so blue? Did u check how much current it is sinking? I think the LED is not drawing the max current 1A. U need a ohm meter to read the current in series. Pictures, this is with both the white and the blue lights on. No idea why they came out like this. The tank looks SUPER in person but it does have sort of a Disco effect from the lights. Link to comment
goofyreefer Posted August 28, 2009 Share Posted August 28, 2009 Star... what did you end up using for the PWM? Link to comment
TheStar Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 Just a 9v wall wart type of thing. I will redo it once Evil finalizes the PWM this weekend. Link to comment
TheStar Posted August 29, 2009 Author Share Posted August 29, 2009 Why it is so blue? Did u check how much current it is sinking? I think the LED is not drawing the max current 1A. U need a ohm meter to read the current in series. I don't know why it's so blue, the only thing I can think of is the Power supply for the two strings are different. One is 5 volt 2 Amp and the other is 5 volt 3 Amp. I assure you, it doesn't look like that in person. I need to pick up a multimeter to test the OHM's. Where would you do the test? Does it matter? Would you do it on the tail end of the LED's after the current goes through? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 You don't want to measure ohms (resistance). You want to measure current. To do that, you need to put your multimeter in the 10A current mode, and place the positive test lead in the 10A port. Place the meter in series to the LED string like you would an additional LED. Link to comment
goofyreefer Posted August 29, 2009 Share Posted August 29, 2009 I don't know why it's so blue, the only thing I can think of is the Power supply for the two strings are different. One is 5 volt 2 Amp and the other is 5 volt 3 Amp. I assure you, it doesn't look like that in person. I need to pick up a multimeter to test the OHM's. Where would you do the test? Does it matter? Would you do it on the tail end of the LED's after the current goes through? I may be having a brain fart but what are the 5 volt power supplies for? I thought you used meanwell 48 P's? Link to comment
isidro0 Posted August 30, 2009 Share Posted August 30, 2009 yeah, i saw the 5volt thing also, but i think hes talking about the min. output of the 48P'a. Link to comment
goofyreefer Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I wired mine up and tested it. Now it's just a matter of the PWM and final wiring:) Link to comment
imagex Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 I got a quick question.... do these run hotter then pc lamps?? like comparing to the stock lighting on a bc 29 is it hotter then that??? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted September 4, 2009 Share Posted September 4, 2009 It's different. The heat is radiated off the back side of the heatsink, and not from the LED itself. The heat doesn't get transfered to the water. It still isn't as much heat on the backside of the heatsink as PCs anyway. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 You don't want to measure ohms (resistance). You want to measure current. To do that, you need to put your multimeter in the 10A current mode, and place the positive test lead in the 10A port. Place the meter in series to the LED string like you would an additional LED. I am waiting on doing this until I install the PWM circuit. I don't want to remove the hood and open it up twice. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 4, 2009 Author Share Posted September 4, 2009 I got a quick question.... do these run hotter then pc lamps?? like comparing to the stock lighting on a bc 29 is it hotter then that??? In addition to what evil said. I put my hand on top of the stock hood and it does not even feel warm. The PC lamps would warm up the tank and I could feel it in the hood. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 5, 2009 Author Share Posted September 5, 2009 After the ICE Storm we had in December of last year I bought an APC Smart UPS 1000 Backup power supply for my tank. This way, if the power goes out for a minute or an extended amount of time, the tank will stay running. At least I can keep the heater/pump on. With the whole tank (including PC lamps) plugged into it, the APC Backup had a full load (5 out of 5) - meaning it would run only for a minimal amount of time if the power went out. I believe it would be 15 - 20 minutes with the maximum load. I just plugged the new LED lighting system in and it does not show any load at all (0 out of 5) meaning it should last quite a while if the power goes out. Maybe a couple hours. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 16, 2009 Author Share Posted September 16, 2009 I built another one of these arrays for my Nanowave 9 and I have the same problem with the first 2 lights in the white series...they do not work. I just tested (plugged the multimeter onto the +/- of the LED, while they are powered on) the voltage on the 2 working VS the others and this is what I have. The first non-working LED's reads .8 Volts, the second was .1 and then the working LED's read 3.3V. Any help would be greatly appreciated... Link to comment
evilc66 Posted September 17, 2009 Share Posted September 17, 2009 Remove the LEDs in question from the circuit and heatsink and check continuity between the positive and negative of the LED. Should not have any continuity. If you get no continuity, check the resistance. We aren't checking the LED as such, but the solder connections under it. I'm thinking that there might be a solder or flux bridge connecting the pads creating the short. It can be fixed, but it takes some effort. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 Evil, just got back to the office and checked the LED's. The nonworking LED's have continuity. Now what? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted September 22, 2009 Share Posted September 22, 2009 One of two things has happened then. Either the LED has shorted closed and it will have to be replaced, or there is a short under the LED. There is no easy way to check to see if the LED is shorted closed, so you will have to try and fix the short under the LED, if there is one. Get an old non-stick frying pan (preferably one that the boss won't mind you using), and place the LED(s) in the center. Turn the burner on your range all the way up and let it cook for a little while. You should start to see bubbles forming and popping at the edges of the LED. This is residual flux from the soldering process. Let it sit for about 3-5 minutes and turn the burner off and let everything cool. There is a strong chance that it has fixed itself by just reflowing the solder. If not, repeat the heating instructions, but this time, use a pair of tweezers to pick up the LED. Inspect the pcb and the bottom of the LED for solder bridges. Remove any bridges while the parts are still hot, and replace the LED. Pay attention to the orientation. Using a little flux will help greatly when putting the two parts back together. Radioshack has tubs of paste flux. Just make sure you get rid of the flux residue with denatured alcohol after it's cooled. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 22, 2009 Author Share Posted September 22, 2009 WOW...Looking forward to frying these things later. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 Forgot the LED's at work so no frying them up tonight. Evil, any updates on the dimming circuit? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 I keep forgetting to finish it. Got so much on my plate right now it's not funny. Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 I keep forgetting to finish it. Got so much on my plate right now it's not funny. I understand. From reading I have done on the forum, it seems that without the dimming circuit, the LED's running at Full Tilt. If your happy with the color balance, is the dimmer still necessary? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Without anything, the driver output is off. People have been using various low voltage power supples to get rolling. If you and your tank are happy with the color and brightness, great. No need for the dimmer. Chances are though you will want to take advantage of the dimmer for acclimation purposes at the very least. Playing with the color temp is a lot of fun too Link to comment
TheStar Posted September 23, 2009 Author Share Posted September 23, 2009 That's right, I am one of those with the low voltage power supply. I plan on using the dimmer once you complete the circuit. How many amps do you recommend for each of these power supplies anyway? Link to comment
evilc66 Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Small. Few hundred milliamps will be enough for multiple circuits. Link to comment
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